


Stronger Together

by BookWyrm07



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 03:44:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18307514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookWyrm07/pseuds/BookWyrm07
Summary: When a pack game night takes a violent turn Liam is forced to choose between the man he loves and the pack he thought he would always be a part of.





	Stronger Together

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by The Cab song Take My Hand.

Liam slept on his stomach, his head pillowed on his arms, face down, and hair sticking out in all directions. At some point in their sleep the blanket had been kicked down, now it just covered that incredible ass. Theo smiled, his eyes roamed up his finely muscled back, all that delicious, often fuzzy, skin. He wasn't shifted at all. Liam was just a hairy guy. He focused on the scar. Liam's only physical scar was the one Theo had given him, the bite of a true mate. The beta shifted in his sleep, rubbing a hand against the scar. 

Theo took a deep breath, closed his eyes and forced his heart rate to slow. Liam was picking up on his anxiety about today, and if he didn't get it in check it would wake him. That's what everyone else didn't understand. They couldn't lie to each other. They couldn't hide. Being truly mated meant sharing power. It meant always knowing how your mate felt. 

“Slowing your heart rate doesn't, stop you from feeling anxious,” Liam said lifting his head. His voice with thick with sleep, eyes still closed. 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.” It had taken them months for them to figure out what all the little twinges and itchy feelings from the scars meant, but now, reading them was second nature. “Maybe I should just clear out tonight, avoid all the drama.”

“Not a chance.” Liam rolled over resting his head on his mate's chest. “I'm not letting Stiles and Malia kick you out of your own home, just because they still hold a grudge.”

“They have good reasons to hold a grudge,” Theo insisted. “I did some really terrible things.” He experienced Liam's annoyance not only with outside senses like smell and sight, but with the dull ache in his scar.

Liam nuzzled the side of Theo's neck. “It's been years. You've been punished enough.” He gave a tiny nibbles into the delicate flesh. “If they can't see how much you've changed it's their problem, and if they don't want to be near you, they should stop asking me to take a turn hosting pack game night. They may not let you in the pack, but you are my mate, so they can be nice for one night.” Every few words he paused to give kisses, or little flicks of his tongue. 

Theo sighed, and turned his head baring his throat. The younger man rolled over straddling his mate's hips. “What are you doing?” Theo asked, as Liam pinned his wrists on either side of his head. 

“One emotion at a time, right?” Liam rocked his hips, his face still buried against the other man's neck. “You can't be anxious if you're horney.” He looked up, face suddenly serious. “Does orgasm count as an emotion?” 

Theo laughed. “We can find out,” he suggested and rocked his hips.

\---

Theo looked around their studio apartment. The space was fine for him and Liam. The main room held their couch, a small coffee table and a TV on one side. The other, slightly smaller side held a desk and their bed. They even had enough space to move around comfortably, when it was just the two of them. Having six more people added into the small space would be a tight squeeze. 

He still wished two more would be coming. Mason and Corey still had another week of classes before they would be back in Beacon Hills for the summer. It had only taken one night for Mason to reverse his position on their relationship. He saw the way his best friend responded to Theo, the way the leaned on each other and how much more in control Liam was when they were together and that was it. He was their biggest supporter. 

This was going to be interesting. 

“Did you order the pizza yet?” Liam came in reading his phone.

“Yeah, four extra large: pepperoni, Hawaiian, bbq chicken, and three meat.” Theo turned the couch to face the middle of the room. Good thing they had decided to play truth or dare. There was no way they could set up a board game without a full sized table. “Why?”

“Malia can't stand the smell of pizza. It's pregnancy thing.” Scott and Malia had made their big announcement a week ago, and Liam had told Theo as soon as he'd gotten home. “Is it too late to cancel?” There were footsteps in the hall outside their apartment, and both could smell the now forbidden food.

“I'll get rid of the pizza. I can give it to Melissa at the hospital,” Theo offered, “you said she's always excited when someone brings her dinner. What food is safe for us to have tonight?”

“Burritos. I'll get everyone's order and put it in for you to pick up on your way back.” Liam took hold of Theo's waistband and pulled him close, gave him a deep kiss. “Thank you,” he said against Theo's lips. “I know you're only putting up with them for me.”

\---

Malia sat at the desk, an open laptop. “What kind of psycho writes fanfiction about the Roman Senate?”

“It's called historical fiction, fan fiction would require a work for it to be based on, like Plato's Republic, and I wouldn't call Liam psycho.” Theo set down the box of burritos, chips and dips on the coffee table. “He does have some well known anger issues, though, and I know he didn't give you permission to read that. If you're trying to go through my stuff it's all on here.” He set his unlocked phone on the desk next to the coyote, and closed the laptop.

She glared at him. “Tonight is supposed to be for the pack. Why are you even here?”

“Me?” He asked with mock innocence. “I live here. Why are you alone in my home? Where are Scott and Liam?”

“Scott went to get me pineapple popsicles and Liam is helping some smelly old lady move a couch.”

“Smelly like old people smell or like cat litter and latkes?” Malia just growled at the question. Theo rolled his eyes, and explained, “they're different neighbors. I'm just wondering if my husband is across the complex helping Mrs. Brisco or up stairs at Mrs. Jefferson's.”

“You guys aren't married.” She was getting more and more agitated. 

“We're mate's. That's more than married, but I don't expect you to understand.” 

He saw the attack coming. Her eyes turned bright blue. Her teeth grew into fangs. He had plenty of time to relax his muscles to take the hit. If he dodged it would just make her angrier, and hitting the woman pregnant with the alpha's kid seemed like a really bad idea. He rolled with the hits, she wouldn't do much damage as long as she stuck to fists. Liam would feel something was wrong and come running, soon enough. She raked claws down his chest, and he had to bite back a scream. 

He shifted, and caught her hands on her next swings. “Breathe, Malia. This can't be good for your baby,” he tried to calm her down. She pulled a hand free and slashed at his throat, making light contact. He backed away. She tackled him to the floor, claws ready to rip him apart. He twisted and reversed the hold, pinning her to the ground.

A deafening crack followed immediately by a stabbing, burning pain in his right shoulder. Theo fell back on the floor. “I knew we couldn't trust you,” Stiles said, gun still in hand.

Liam's howl shook the walls, as pain erupted in his left shoulder. The room was spinning. An ass kicking and a bullet shouldn't hit him this hard, unless… he focused on the the bullet wound. The smell of wolfsbane and mistletoe hit his nose as the room began to spin. He and Liam were dying. That was it. Stiles had killed them both.

Things got fuzzy, then, as pain or poison clogged his brain. He could see Lydia moving with purpose. She pointed to the right and the other two guys, Nolan and Alec, it looked like left at a run. She was in his face now, her bright red lips moving. Was there sound? Yes. She was talking, asking him something. He missed most of it. “... burn it out... where…” 

It clicked. She wants to save Liam. The banshee would know they were both dying. “First aid kit, bathroom, under sink,” he managed to sputter out. 

Nolan and Alec were back, carrying a semiconscious Liam between them. Theo felt his heart lurch at the sight of his mate. His leg was bent the wrong way, his head was bleeding, and worst of all was the black blood leaking from his mouth.

Lydia was talking again, trying to get his attention. Didn't she see Liam needed help more than he did. Liam was the important one. “Hurt.” It was the only word that came through before Alec was holding him. Lydia lifted the small propane torch they kept in the first aid kit. Oh, she's going to burn out the poison. That was the last coherent thought before he blacked out from pain.

\---

Waking up was a slow process. From the feel and the smell he knew he was in bed, but it wasn't a pillow under his head. Legs, a lap. Liam's lap. He could feel his heartbeat, and the scar signaled only anger, no pain.

A wave of relief hit Theo so hard he must have made a sound. Liam's fingers ran through his hair, and he realized his mate was talking. “...believe him? My mate, the guy that has spent the last two years trying to get on your good side attacked your, the semi-feral pregnant girlfriend who's mood swings make even you run and hide. That's believable?”

“I know that isn't what happened, but I believe Stiles when he said that's how it looked when he came in,” Scott said. “Given Theo's history we have to be ready for him to turn on us. That's why I can't let him in the pack.”

“When are you going to understand? Theo won't do anything against you or the pack. He wouldn't hurt me like that. We feel when the other is in pain, emotional and physical. He knows how much it would break me to lose people I care about.”

Scott paused, studying his beta before he said, “I talked to Deaton about what mates can feel and do. They can read strong emotions. In closely bonded couples they can increase each other's power, like the way betas make an alpha stronger. What happened here, that's something else. You should still be unconscious, and I can't even begin to understand how you showed the signs of wolfsbane poisoning without having any in your system, or how healing him made you better. You should be asking what he did to you, because that's not from being mates.”

“Stop trying to turn me against him, Scott.” Liam let out a growl, eyes glowing. “Don't make me choose.” Theo shifted slightly his hand touching the small of Liam's back. The beta relaxed. 

The change didn't go unnoticed. “I'm not trying to make you choose, but it would probably be a good idea for you to keep him away from the pack.”

“It would probably be a good idea for you to go, Scott.”

“We'll talk later, Liam. Please, just think about what I said.” Liam watched his alpha turned his back and walk out the door. 

They didn't move until he heard Scott leave the building. “I didn't expect them to just forgive you and move on, but I thought they cared enough about me to make an effort. I expected them to try to be civil, at least,” Liam's voice came out small, sad, a little boy wondering why his dad would leave if he loved him so much.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Theo held him tighter, rolling so his face pressed to the beta's stomach, his arms wrapped around his waist. “How did you get hurt?” A small rush of heat blossomed over the scar, making Theo wonder why Liam would be embarrassed by getting injured.

“I was in Mrs. Jefferson's apartment when I felt things go wrong. I didn't want to give her a heart attack by busting through her wall. By the time I got to the hallway I heard the shot and wanted to save time so I… jumped the stairs.”

“All four stories?”

“I've done it before, but I lost my footing as I jumped, hit my head on the rail, then I landed bad. I would have been fine if I hadn't been poisoned.” Liam pulled Theo up to face him. “I don't know how the wolfsbane came through the mate bond, but I know it did. Scott is an idiot.” He chewed his lip for a moment. “I was okay staying here when I thought they would come around about you, eventually.”

“Think, Liam. I know you react with your heart, but this needs to be reasoned out. Are you really willing to be an Omega? We can tell everyone we broke up, go back to keeping things secret. You can still have your pack.”

“I don't want to be in a pack that won't take you, and we won't be omegas, we'll start a new pack.” He held out a hand. “Let's run away, just get in your truck and go. Forget packing.”

“That’s more of heart reaction stuff. Take it from someone that lived in their car, we need to pack, at least the stuff that fits in the truck, and you need more than two for a pack.”

“Mason and Corey won't stay with Scott after they hear about tonight.” Liam's eyes lit up. “You'll go?”

Theo laughed, and pulled his mate into a fierce kiss. “You're the only reason I've stayed in Beacon Hills. 

\---

The truck was packed, Liam was surprised how much fit. The only things they left behind were the couch, the desk, office chair, and a couple of rather large blood stains. “Oh well,” Theo had said with a grin, “it's not like we're sticking around to get the deposit back, anyway.” They drove south.


End file.
